McCain-Lieberman ticket is the buzz at O.U. parley
Sue Fishkoff
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Radio host Michael Medved, a hardcore Republican, and political scientist David Luchins, former adviser to the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), disagree on just about everything related to the presidential race.
Except the idea of John McCain.
In a campaign that they say is filled with adulterers, fundamentalists, crooks, bigots and wildcards, the GOP senator from Arizona is the only candidate both men say they could endorse — especially if his running mate were Senator Joe Lieberman, the Sabbath-observant Democrat-turned-Independent who crossed party lines last week to endorse the Republican war hero.
On Sunday, at the Orthodox Union’s West Coast Torah Convention in Beverly Hills, during a session titled “Should Torah Jews Vote Democratic or Republican?”, Medved and Luchins examined the campaign lineup. With about 100 peo! ple in attendance, they ruminated on which candidates deserve the support of Orthodox voters, the majority of whom bucked the overall Jewish trend and voted for President Bush in 2004.
The two men trashed one candidate after another, until a woman in the back of the room offered the final question of the day: What about a McCain-Lieberman ticket?
Heads swiveled back to enjoy what would surely be another of Medved’s sharp witticisms, as he skewered the woman’s political naiveté.
But no. Medved paused. He’d had lunch several times with McCain, he confessed. And maybe … no, he couldn’t tell about it. It was off the record information.
“Turn off the tape!” one man shouted at the video technician recording the session.
Smiling slightly, Medved relented: “I don’t think it’s an unthinkable possibility, and it would be a very strong ticket.” Although he’s! not ready to give up on the Republicans, and although Luchins! is stil l holding out hope for a strong Democratic ticket, the two agreed that McCain-Lieberman 2008 wasn’t a bad idea at all.
The two men are close friends, Medved noted, “and people would love a unity ticket that would put America’s interests first.”
Lieberman, a four-term Connecticut senator, was an unabashed Democrat in 2000, when he was tapped by Al Gore to be his running mate. Since then, however, Lieberman’s vocal support for the Iraq war has put him at odds with many Democratic lawmakers and the party’s liberal base. Last year, in Connecticut’s Democratic senatorial primary, he lost to an anti-war challenger, businessman Ned Lamont, before winning as a third-party candidate in the general election. These days, he describes himself as an “Independent Democrat,” and caucuses with the Democrats, securing their control of the Senate.
The hope in the McCain campaign is that Lieberman’s endorsement will help give! McCain a further boost among independents in New Hampshire, where they have a choice of voting in either party’s primary. Recent polls show McCain making a comeback in the Granite State, where Lieberman joined him last week to announce his endorsement.
In addition to defending the U.S. mission in Iraq, both McCain and Lieberman have taken a tough line on confronting Islamic fundamentalism, especially the mullahs in Tehran.
For Medved, Iran is the only Jewish issue in this election.
“Do you believe we’re facing an existential threat to the state of Israel and the United States from Islamo-Nazi terror?” he asked with rhetorical flourish at one point during the session at the O.U. event. “Or do you believe, as the Democrats do, that President Bush is more of a threat to world peace than the Iranian mullahs?”
Across the board, Medved insisted, the Republican candidates are more solidly ! pro-Israel and ready to take on Iran than any of the Democrats! . “Luchi ns will say, Jews vote Democrat, they just do,” Medved quipped. “Like salmon swimming upstream.”
In fact, Luchins, a vice-president of the Orthodox Union, was quite equivocal in his support for his party. Like Medved, he’s switched party affiliation more than once in the past few decades, and this year he’s less happy with the current crop of Democratic candidates than Medved is with the GOP offerings. Saying that he’s “very uncomfortable” with Obama and Edwards, both of whom he considers “too partisan,” Luchins held out hope for “the centrists — Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and, yes, Hillary Clinton.”
Luchins shot down every one of Medved’s glowing reviews of the Republican hopefuls. “Both parties are a problem,” Luchins stated. “Both are filled with people who are not our friends.”
Earlier in the day, Los Angeles resident Mark Abraham echoed the feelings of many attendees, saying “I’m more disheartened by t! his election than any. I don’t see in any one candidate a real leader.”
One woman, a registered Republican, had said she might vote Democrat “as long as it’s not Hillary.” Another man, a registered Democrat, said he would support Clinton in the primaries and then vote Republican in November.
In the end, it was the McCain-Lieberman scenario that buoyed many people’s spirits and got the room buzzing.
If only, sighed Dr. Allan Levine, a self-described “disappointed Democrat” from Los Angeles. “But,” he continued, bringing up the huge war chests already amassed by the leading candidates in both parties, “where would they get the money?”
Just find a way to make room for Michael Bloomberg.
This is a most serious issue. I start to explain my position with a quote from a Jewish man, Jared Israel, of Emperors New Clothes
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/garris/duringthe.htm
JOE LIEBERMAN – APOLOGIST FOR THE FASCIST KLA
by Jared Israel and Eric Garris (Written 20 August 2000, not posted until 23 May 2001)
Got that! Judenfrei. This is the same Lieberman that is mentioned above.
I turn now to a man called Joel S. Fishman who is writing about antisemitism. It is an excellent article within its limits and covers Nazi antisemitism and the related Palestinian Arab and Soviet Stalinist antisemitism. Fishman is silent on Leon Trotsky the great socialist revolutionary fighter who emerged as a great supporter of the beleaguered Jews in the last years of the 1930s.
And this:
Later in this excellent article appears the following:
Almost all of the above in relation to antisemitism can be applied in one way or another, at one time or another, to racism against Serbs
Fishman the author concludes with this. It could have been penned specidically for the unprincipled support of Israpundit for Lieberman, enemy of the Serb people and supporter of the racist KLA who drove Serbs AND Jews out of Kosovo.
On Israpundit the editor and principle writer engage in this exchange above:
Before reading this suggestion anywhere I suggested the same to Jerry Gordon this morning.
After all I said Lieberman endorsed McCain.
Comment by Ted Belman — December 27, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Definitely preferable to anything the Democrats can offer. Lieberman is the only Democrat for whom I would consider voting for in the Presidential election.
Comment by Bill Levinson — December 27, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
The editor is Ted Belman and the writer is Jerry Gordon. Another regular writer Bill Levinson as we see also weighed in on the same topic of support for Lieberman.
Here they are lauding the arch enemy of the Serb people, a man responsible as much or more than anybody in the American Establishment for the destruction of Serbia, for the vilification, even Nazification in the Media of Slobodan Milosevic and the Serb people. He thus has responsibility for the poisoning of Slobodan Milosevic in a NATO prison.
It says above it is important to understand the basis of anti-Israeli propaganda but these people connected with Israpundit are doing the very same thing to the Serbs and their agony, they are lauding and giving credence to the very man, Lieberman, so responsible for making the name of the Serbs out to be a hated, racist, nazi type entity, a lie of Hitlerite magnitude.
The lack of basic internationalist principle of these on Israpundit is astounding. Furthermore because a true Jewish leadership must be based on principles, and not on opportunism, they are also betraying the Jews.
Perhaps the casual reader to Israpundit may counter that these writers do not know the record of Lieberman in the Balkans. But as we all know they know very well as these facts have been enunciated time and time again.
A number of things flow from Israpundit editorial support for Lieberman and through that the racism against the Serbs. One it is quite impossible for Israpundit to fight against the racism and antisemitism against Jews. It is also impossible for Israpundit to conduct the essential strugggle against Stalinism which has also been responsible for spreading hatred against the Jews.
It is also why I am breaking all formal links with Israpundit. Since all Jews are coming into a period of intense struggle and considerable danger I will seek to establish a unity with groups such as Israpundit. But the banners will never be entwined. I and any who join me will speak always from a position of political, theoretical and organizational independence. My name should be removed from the list of writers above for obvious reasons.I believe firmly that Israpundit under present direction will on behalf of the Jewish people have to confront this issue of Lieberman because as regards the Serbs and the Jews we are talking about an indivisible cloth. I believe that I represent the continuity of the ideas and traditions of the great Russsian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and I cannot allow my name and his principles to be formally linked with an organization that is racist towards the Serbs, through Lieberman, no more than I would with racism towards the Jews. This is an awful thing to say to a group of Jews, a people who have suffered so much from racism, but sadly it is the truth. So it has to be said.
This is a most serious issue. I start to explain my position with a quote from a Jewish man, Jared Israel, of Emperors New Clothes
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/garris/duringthe.htm
JOE LIEBERMAN – APOLOGIST FOR THE FASCIST KLA
by Jared Israel and Eric Garris (Written 20 August 2000, not posted until 23 May 2001)
Got that! Judenfrei. This is the same Lieberman that is mentioned above.
I turn now to a man called Joel S. Fishman who is writing about antisemitism. It is an excellent article within its limits and covers Nazi antisemitism and the related Palestinian Arab and Soviet Stalinist antisemitism. Fishman is silent on Leon Trotsky the great socialist revolutionary fighter who emerged as a great supporter of the beleaguered Jews in the last years of the 1930s.
And this:
Later in this excellent article appears the following:
Almost all of the above in relation to antisemitism can be applied in one way or another, at one time or another, to racism against Serbs
Fishman the author concludes with this. It could have been penned specidically for the unprincipled support of Israpundit for Lieberman, enemy of the Serb people and supporter of the racist KLA who drove Serbs AND Jews out of Kosovo.
On Israpundit the editor and principle writer engage in this exchange above:
Before reading this suggestion anywhere I suggested the same to Jerry Gordon this morning.
After all I said Lieberman endorsed McCain.
Comment by Ted Belman — December 27, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Definitely preferable to anything the Democrats can offer. Lieberman is the only Democrat for whom I would consider voting for in the Presidential election.
Comment by Bill Levinson — December 27, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
The editor is Ted Belman and the writer is Jerry Gordon. Another regular writer Bill Levinson as we see also weighed in on the same topic of support for Lieberman.
Here they are lauding the arch enemy of the Serb people, a man responsible as much or more than anybody in the American Establishment for the destruction of Serbia, for the vilification, even Nazification in the Media of Slobodan Milosevic and the Serb people. He thus has responsibility for the poisoning of Slobodan Milosevic in a NATO prison.
It says above it is important to understand the basis of anti-Israeli propaganda but these people connected with Israpundit are doing the very same thing to the Serbs and their agony, they are lauding and giving credence to the very man, Lieberman, so responsible for making the name of the Serbs out to be a hated, racist, nazi type entity, a lie of Hitlerite magnitude.
The lack of basic internationalist principle of these on Israpundit is astounding. Furthermore because a true Jewish leadership must be based on principles, and not on opportunism, they are also betraying the Jews.
Perhaps the casual reader to Israpundit may counter that these writers do not know the record of Lieberman in the Balkans. But as we all know they know very well as these facts have been enunciated time and time again.
A number of things flow from Israpundit editorial support for Lieberman and through that the racism against the Serbs. One it is quite impossible for Israpundit to fight against the racism and antisemitism against Jews. It is also impossible for Israpundit to conduct the essential strugggle against Stalinism which has also been responsible for spreading hatred against the Jews.
It is also why I am breaking all formal links with Israpundit. Since all Jews are coming into a period of intense struggle and considerable danger I will seek to establish a unity with groups such as Israpundit. But the banners will never be entwined. I and any who join me will speak always from a position of political, theoretical and organizational independence. My name should be removed from the list of writers above for obvious reasons.I believe firmly that Israpundit under present direction will on behalf of the Jewish people have to confront this issue of Lieberman because as regards the Serbs and the Jews we are talking about an indivisible cloth. I believe that I represent the continuity of the ideas and traditions of the great Russsian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and I cannot allow my name and his principles to be formally linked with an organization that is racist towards the Serbs, through Lieberman, no more than I would with racism towards the Jews. This is an awful thing to say to a group of Jews, a people who have suffered so much from racism, but sadly it is the truth. So it has to be said.
I don’t like either one especially Uncle Tom Lieberman! he supports a 2 state solution ! Real religious Jew? still living and enjoying the Galut. Violation of Most important Mitzva in the Torah. Secular Jews i can forgive not religious Orthodox ones they are all Hypocrites and I am ashamed of them. Violation of Judaic principle that no Jew should be able to pick and choose which mitzva to accept and which ones to reject voluntarily/.. All Mitzvot are equal in this regard. That is Halacha. according to Ranban it is eaqual to idol worship and precludes entrance in the world to come. The most secular Jew living in the Land of Israel is more worthy of the world to come the all the so called religious Jews living in the Galut. I don’t think I will get any arguments from religious Jews on this .
I don’t like either one especially Uncle Tom Lieberman! he supports a 2 state solution ! Real religious Jew? still living and enjoying the Galut. Violation of Most important Mitzva in the Torah. Secular Jews i can forgive not religious Orthodox ones they are all Hypocrites and I am ashamed of them. Violation of Judaic principle that no Jew should be able to pick and choose which mitzva to accept and which ones to reject voluntarily/.. All Mitzvot are equal in this regard. That is Halacha. according to Ranban it is eaqual to idol worship and precludes entrance in the world to come. The most secular Jew living in the Land of Israel is more worthy of the world to come the all the so called religious Jews living in the Galut. I don’t think I will get any arguments from religious Jews on this .
I side with Geigergag. Have a look at News Flash : John McCain Not Popular With Republicans Malkin Readers over at the Jawa report, follow the Malkin link and read the comments at both sites.
I side with Geigergag. Have a look at News Flash : John McCain Not Popular With Republicans Malkin Readers over at the Jawa report, follow the Malkin link and read the comments at both sites.
John McCain stated that he thinks Abbas and his Fatah terrorist group are entirely different than Hamas. Those of you that think McCain would be a strong president on foreign policy issues are, I think, mistaken. He strongly supports building another terrorist state basically in Israel. He has expressed full throated, Condi like support for Abbas. And his judgment is more that questionable. This is the guy that thinks that on 9/10/2001 if we would have had Khalid Sheik Mohammed in hand and we knew that there was an accute likelyhood of an immediate attack, that strong interrogation techniques like waterboarding still would not be acceptable. He supported what can only be considered a legal a campaign against free speech with McCain/Feingold. The man is certainly a personal hero, but he has a record of bad judgment on these issues, on illegal immigration and on many other issues. He would not be a good choice for president. And I believe that most of the readers of this site would be terribly disappointed in him.
John McCain stated that he thinks Abbas and his Fatah terrorist group are entirely different than Hamas. Those of you that think McCain would be a strong president on foreign policy issues are, I think, mistaken. He strongly supports building another terrorist state basically in Israel. He has expressed full throated, Condi like support for Abbas. And his judgment is more that questionable. This is the guy that thinks that on 9/10/2001 if we would have had Khalid Sheik Mohammed in hand and we knew that there was an accute likelyhood of an immediate attack, that strong interrogation techniques like waterboarding still would not be acceptable. He supported what can only be considered a legal a campaign against free speech with McCain/Feingold. The man is certainly a personal hero, but he has a record of bad judgment on these issues, on illegal immigration and on many other issues. He would not be a good choice for president. And I believe that most of the readers of this site would be terribly disappointed in him.
Of course there is a converse to Luchins’ “Both parties are a problem”…”Both are filled with people who are not our friends”.
I remembered to save an article;
“Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), surprised members of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America during remarks at a luncheon when he acknowledge there is a perception among many Jews that Democrats are not strong enough on the issue of Israeli security.
However, he insisted, the perception is not true.
‘A lot of us were quite struck that he would say that,’ said a high ranking official with the group.”
THE HILL Newspaper, 30 March 04, pg 1,5.
Kol tuv,
cc: Sura Arafat
Of course there is a converse to Luchins’ “Both parties are a problem”…”Both are filled with people who are not our friends”.
I remembered to save an article;
“Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), surprised members of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America during remarks at a luncheon when he acknowledge there is a perception among many Jews that Democrats are not strong enough on the issue of Israeli security.
However, he insisted, the perception is not true.
‘A lot of us were quite struck that he would say that,’ said a high ranking official with the group.”
THE HILL Newspaper, 30 March 04, pg 1,5.
Kol tuv,
cc: Sura Arafat
Before reading this suggestion anywhere I suggested the same to Jerry Gordon this morning.
After all I said Lieberman endorsed McCain.
Before reading this suggestion anywhere I suggested the same to Jerry Gordon this morning.
After all I said Lieberman endorsed McCain.